Construction of new residential dorm brings heavy expectations

After freshman move-in in 2015, parking lots G-1 and R-2 will close for the construction of the new Grand Avenue and Slack Street residence halls, leaving freshmen with fewer parking options near their residence halls.

“There will not be parking immediately adjacent to Sierra Madre and Yosemite for our resident students,” Associate Director of University Police Department (UPD) Cindy Campbell said.

But the university has a plan.

There are 1,326 parking spaces in the G-1 and R-2 lots, located adjacent to the Sierra Madre and Yosemite towers. Removal of these areas will not prevent students from finding parking, as there are enough spaces on campus to accommodate current parking demands, Campbell said.

Residents have the choice of parking their vehicles in the R-1 lot, located behind the red brick residence halls and North Mountain along Klamath Road. The R-3 lot along Village Drive and R-4 lot behind Poly Canyon Village on Canyon Circle are also available for residential use.

There are no plans to expand residential parking.

“We don’t want to run out of parking spaces, so we will have caps and limitations on how many permits can be sold,” Campbell said. “It’ll be a wait list system.”

Upcoming students bringing their cars onto campus will have to sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis for their preferred lot choice.

Without the G-1 parking lot, commuting students will move toward other general lots located on the opposite side of campus. Increased traffic on Highland Road and California Boulevard is to be expected and may require additional traffic directing at peak times, Campbell said.

“We’re working on a mobile app,” Campbell said. “We want you to be able to plan the trip before you ever leave home.”

The app will be available for Cal Poly students in Fall 2015 — just in time for the construction on lots G-1 and R-2 — and will make drivers aware of closures or restrictions so that they can effectively plan their commute to campus.

Students using the app may be drawn toward alternate modes of transportation during times of peak traffic, such as riding their bikes or using San Luis Obispo’s public bus system, which is free with a Cal Poly ID.

“The bus remains a very popular option for students, and we encourage it,” Campbell said.

In addition to the new residence halls, there will be a four-story parking structure in place of the G-1 lot. It will be adjacent to the residence halls and will be a general parking area.

UPD will respond accordingly to increased or decreased parking demands for residents and general students once the new structure is built, Campbell said.

“Understand that next year is going to bring forth a lot of changes,” Campbell said.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that parking lots G-1 and R-2 will close after Fall Commencement in 2015. It has been updated to say freshman move-in. The post also said a mobile app would tell students how many spaces are available in specific lots and if a lot reached capacity. It has been changed to reflect the app’s more accurate purpose, alerting drivers of closures.